Amid worrisome takes on China’s post-Covid recovery, Beijing should release trade and inflation data later this week, while figures on unemployment, investment, industrial output and retail sales are due June 15.

With youth joblessness reaching a record high, some universities are again trying to pad the employment figures among graduates by pushing students into freelancing and entrepreneurships.

Blight and pre-harvest germination have ruined vast swathes of China’s wheat-production base, prompting local authorities and state stockpiler Sinograin to ramp up efforts to save the critical crop.

Economic Daily newspaper calls on authorities to encourage more people aged over 60 to work again as China struggles with a shrinking and ageing population.

Personal colour analysis, which identifies the best colours a person should wear, is becoming popular in Asia. A personal colour analyst in Hong Kong explains why to a writer who is surprised by her own results.

Annual position paper from the British Chamber of Commerce in China points to uncertainty and a lack of trust and clarity on regulations, with 70 per cent of surveyed businesses adopting a ‘wait-and-see approach’.

Owning ill-gotten homes and hoarding stockpiles of cash is getting harder in China as privacy wanes and transparency reigns

Official FDI figures for the year’s first four months show momentum is slowing despite Beijing’s all-out push to invigorate the economy by luring overseas companies and investors.

China’s jobless rate among 16- to 24-year-olds has hit a record high, but even with one out of five young adults out of work, many in Generation Z refuse to tolerate abusive environments.

The nation’s pet economy is booming, mental health concerns are on the rise, and young adults are keen on holidays and tech splurging in a post-pandemic China, according to a large nationwide survey.

Olivia Cotes-James founded Luüna Naturals, one of Hong Kong’s first, and biggest, femtech companies, which has worked with offices and schools to dispense free menstrual products to over 300,000 users.

A group of local entrepreneurs is pushing through institutional barriers, but Hong Kong lags behind Singapore in nurturing an area that will be worth US$68.9 billion in 2027, analysts say.

Investing in overseas property can be fraught with problems, so buyers will do well to pay a great deal of attention to the finer details, as recouping their investments can prove insurmountable, experts say.

The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority and the eMPF will be moving to a single office in The Millennity in Kwun Tong. The downsizing will save the regulator HK$14 million (US$1.8 million) a year in rent.

Attracted by Phuket’s serene waters and tourism appeal, Swiss national Reda Abouhanine bought a unit in a resort project in 2017. Construction came to a standstill in 2020 due to the pandemic, and never resumed.

Hong Kong-based companies like Tutor Circle are resorting to remote hires after exhausting recruitment search in the city. Recruitment firms say clients are now open to the idea of hiring staff from Southeast Asia.

For the second time in eight months, UK-based HSBC chairman Mark Tucker and CEO Noel Quinn flew in to host an informal meeting alongside Hong Kong-based Asia-Pacific chairman Peter Wong Tung-shun with over 1,000 shareholders.

Germany-based and Hong Kong-listed EuroEyes International Eye Clinic is set to open its first store in the city, taking over the space occupied by Prada in one of the world’s costliest retail strips.

Blue Moon is optimistic about recovery in 2023, with plans to expand sales channels and tap into a growing exercise trend among consumers.

The rush to fill vacancies pushed the city’s unemployment rate down to a three-year low of 3.3 per cent during the December-to-February rolling period, according to the Census and Statistics Department.

The carmaker’s two ventures in China are offering discounts of up to 20 per cent, or 40,000 yuan (US$5,816), on battery-powered SUVs in the hope of luring more budget-conscious drivers.

Outbreaks have prompted some schools to halt classes, while authorities have issued health alerts.

Chinese foreign ministry reiterates call to ‘stop politicising the origins of Covid’, after US Department of Energy report cites new intelligence.

Observers say Beijing is concerned about recent developments in the region and the South China Sea but its hands are tied.

China and the European Union will resume high-level talks after a lengthy pandemic suspension.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang’s Indonesia trip reveals Beijing’s unease about Asean’s Western leanings.

Singaporean Foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan welcomes China’s interest in broadening and deepening engagement with Southeast Asian nations.

Wang Yi says Sino-French relations should serve as example for other countries and stresses global infrastructure strategy’s role in boosting Beijing’s ties with Italy.

Wang Yi, director of China’s Central Foreign Affairs Commission, meets French president and foreign minister to encourage free trade and cooperation.

With the stakes high for Beijing, Wang Yi must carefully manage China’s position on the Ukraine war, while boosting ties with Russia, analysts say.